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Baby Pictures

Series: Crossing East - Asian American History series
From: Dmae Roberts
Length: 00:05:40

Vietnamese adoptees from Operation Babylift tell their stories. Read the full description.
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Piece Description

As the Vietnam War came to an end in 1975, US-assisted orphanages in Vietnam feared that if North Vietnam were victorious, all the children might be killed. Humanitarian groups suggested as many children as possible be taken out of the country. On April 3rd, 1975, President Gerald Ford announced that up to 70,000 children would be flown out of the country to the United States. Around 2,700 arrived and were adopted in the US before the fall of Saigon on April 15th. Now adults, these adoptees share their search for a sense of sel Voices of: Richard and Tina Silver, Jared Rehberg, Shannon Hetrick, Betty Tisdale Newsreels: Archive.org Produced by Sara Caswell Kolbet and Dmae Roberts with contributor Miae Kim. This is part of "Brides and Children" from the Crossing East series.

2 Comments Atom Feed

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Sometimes you CAN go home.

I'm not vietnamese, not an orphan, but I reacted strongly to this search for self. We all do it. We're all looking at mirrors and at other faces, searching for signs of ourselves. It's particularly poignant when the search covers such extremes of time and distance. Well produced, a definite "good listen."

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Review of Baby Pictures

Operation Babylift brought 2700 children from Vietman in 1975. This piece witnesses the children who've since grown away from home go back home and connect. You will, however, not learn much about that generation of children except for the few who talk about how they feel they've emerged from Operation.

Nevertheless, their feelings need your ears because, chances are, one of them maybe your neighbor.

Broadcast History

Aired on individual stations as part of the eight-hour Crossing East series.

Related Website

http://crossingeast.org/